Lagatar24 Desk
Jerusalem, May 11: Palestinian shooting killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank today, according to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who blamed the death on Israeli troops.
“According to the information we’ve gathered, it appears likely that armed Palestinians — who were indiscriminately firing at the time — were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist,” said Bennett in a statement.
Shireen Abu Akleh, a well-known Palestinian woman reporter for the broadcaster’s Arabic language station, was shot and killed shortly after, according to the reports. Another Palestinian journalist from the Al-Quds daily in Jerusalem was injured, although his condition is stable.
In recent weeks, Israel has conducted nearly daily operations in the occupied West Bank, following a series of deadly attacks inside Israel, many of which were carried out by Palestinians from Jenin and the surrounding area. The town, particularly its refugee camp, has a long history of being a militant stronghold.
The West Bank was taken by Israel in the 1967 Middle East conflict, and the Palestinians want it to be the centre of their future state. Nearly 3 million Palestinians live in the Israeli-controlled region. Over 130 settlements have been erected across the West Bank, housing roughly 500,000 Jewish inhabitants with full Israeli citizenship.
